What is the Quran?

Al-Quran is the eternal miracle. It is the last Book of Allah sent for the
guidance of humanity through the last Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him
(PBUH).

Revelation of the Quran

The Quran was revealed piecemeal throughout a period of about 23 years. The
Prophet received the first revelation in 610CE, in the Cave of Hira in the Mountain
of Light (Jabale-Noor), two and a half miles away from the House of Allah in the
city of Makkah in Arabia.

The first revelation was the first five verses of Surah (chapter) Al-Alaq: "Iqra bismi
rabbikalla dhi khalaq. Khalaqal insana min alaq. Iqra wa rabtukal alrram. Alladhi
'allama bil qalam. 'Allamal insana malam ya’lam, " which means "Read in the
name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, for your Lord is
most Generous, Who teaches by means of the pen, teaches man what he does not
know." (96: 1-5)

The last revelation was the third verse of Surah Al-Maidah, which was sent down to
the Prophet in 632CE: "Al yawma aLmalt'' lakum dinakam wa almamfu alaikam
ni'mati wa raditu' lakumul islama dinan''," which means "Today I perfected your
religion for you and completed my favor to you and have chosen for you Al-Islam
as your religion." (5 3)

Surah Al-Fatiha (The Opening Chapter) was the first complete chapter to be
revealed and Surah An-Nasr was the last.

Divisions of the Quran

Al-Quran is divided into thirty equal divisions, which are called juz in Arabic.
There are 114 chapters, of varying length. The longest chapter is Al-Baqarah
consisting of 286 verses and the shortest chapter is AlKawthar consisting of three
verses only. The whole Quran has 6,666 verses containing 336,233 letters.

The chapters revealed before the migration of the Prophet to Madina are called
Makkan, whereas those sent down after the migration are called Madinan.

Topics of the Chapters

Makkan chapters generally consist of brief sentences which are full of enthusiasm,
poetical, lofty and brilliant. They stress the Unity and Majesty of Allah, the Most
Exalted, Most High (SWT), denounce idle worship, promise paradise for the
righteous and warn wrongdoers of their punishment in Hellfire, confirm the
prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), and remind humanity of the past prophets
and events of their time.

On the other hand, the Madinan chapters are lengthy and the verses are more
prosaic. They outline ritualistic aspects of Islam such as Zakah, Fasting, and Hajj,
lay down moral and ethical codes, criminal laws, social, economic, and state
policies, give guidelines for foreign relations, rules and regulations for battle and
the captives of war. They also contain descriptions of some of the early battles of
Islam, condemnation of hypocrites, emphasis on the unified basic message of all
the past prophets, and confirmation that the process of prophethood and
revelation is complete, so that no Prophet will come after Muhammad [PBUH], no
new book will be revealed, and Allah's religion is complete through Al-Quran. So
here Allah [SWT] exhorted the followers of truth to make Al-Quran as their only
guide.

The Importance of the Quran

The Quran is considered the eternal miracle of Islam. It is the complete and best
guide for living one's life and seeking Allah's pleasure The teachings of the Quran
are universal, addressed to all people throughout the world regardless of their creed
and color. They enlighten man's soul, purify his morals, condemn all wrongs, order
good deeds and call for the establishment of justice and fraternity through obeying
Allah as the supreme authority. The Quran provides the regulations that create the
proper relations between man and Allah and man and man. It leads man to
understand his role in this world, encourages him to think and ponder, and guides
him in the usage of natural resources. In short, the Quran provides all the guidance
that humanity needs. Without the guidance of the Quran, humanity would still be
groping in the darkness of ignorance.

Compilation of the Quran

The Quran was revealed piecemeal, according to the needs of the time. Angel
Jibrail [PBUH] brought it to the Prophet [PBUH] who would memorize it.
Afterwards, it was preserved in two ways.

First, through memorization There were a number of early Muslims who would
memorize each revelation as soon as it was revealed and thus had the whole Quran
memorized at the time of the final revelation. The tradition of memorizing the
entire Quran still continues, and a person who does so is called a Hafize Quran.

Second, the Quran was preserved through writing. Whenever any revelation took
place, it was written at once on tablets, palm branches, shorn of leaves, or animal
skin. This was done primarily by Zaid bin Thabit, who was the main scribe out of
the 42 scribes of the revelation. The Prophet [PBUH] set the order of the chapters
under the guidance of Angel Jibrail [PBUH] and ordered his companions to
maintain that order. Abu Bakr, the first caliph of Islam, compiled the Quran, and
Uthman, the third caliph, made numerous copies and sent one copy to each state
capital.

Eternal Miracle

Al-Quran is the only ever living miracle. Today no other miracle of any prophet
exists. According to a survey, the number of Huffaz (persons who have memorized
the whole Quran) today is more than 10 million.

Millions of editions and copies were printed and handwritten in almost every
part of the world. They were also translated into most of the languages of mankind.
During the period of over 1400 years since the Quran was revealed, not a single
letter was changed. This is one of the greatest miracles of the Quran.

Noble Qur'an (3:102)

O ye who believe! Heed Allah as He deserves to be heeded, and die not except in a state of Islam [in submission to Him].

Narrated Abu Huraira: Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) said,

"On the Day of Resurrection Allah will hold the whole earth and fold the heaven with His right hand and say, 'I am the King: where are the kings of the earth?" (Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 93, Number 479)

25 Duas from the Nobal Qur'an

1. Our Lord! Grant us good in this world and good in the life to come and keep us safe from the torment of the Fire. (2:201)

2. Our Lord! Bestow on us endurance and make our foothold sure and give us help against those who reject faith. (2:250)

3. Our Lord! Take us not to task if we forget or fall into error. (2:286)

4. Our Lord! Lay not upon us such a burden as You did lay upon those before us. (2:286)

5. Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear, grant us forgiveness and have mercy on us. You are our Protector. Help us against those who deny the truth. (2:286)

6. Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate from the truth after You have guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Your grace. Verily You are the Giver of bounties without measure. (3:8)

7. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and the lack of moderation in our doings, and make firm our steps and succour us against those who deny the truth. (3:147)

8. Our Lord! Whomsoever You shall commit to the Fire, truly You have brought [him] to disgrace, and never will wrongdoers find any helpers. (3:192)

9. Our Lord! Behold we have heard a voice calling us unto faith: "Believe in your Lord" and we have believed. (3:193)

10. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and efface our bad deeds and take our souls in the company of the righteous. (3:193)

11. Our Lord! And grant us that which you have promised to us by Your messengers and save us from shame on the Day of Judgement. Verily You never fail to fulfill Your promise. (3:194)

12. Our Lord! We have sinned against ourselves, and unless You grant us forgiveness and bestow Your mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost! (7:23)

13. Our Lord! Place us not among the people who have been guilty of evildoing. (7:47)

14. Our Lord! Lay open the truth between us and our people, for You are the best of all to lay open the truth. (7:89)

15. Our Lord! Pour out on us patience and constancy, and make us die as those who have surrendered themselves unto You. (7:126)

16. Our Lord! Make us not a trial for the evildoing folk, and save as by Your mercy from people who deny the truth. (10:85-86)

17. Our Lord! You truly know all that we may hide [in our hearts] as well as all that we bring into the open, for nothing whatever, be it on earth or in heaven, remains hidden from Allah (14:38)

18. Our Lord! Bestow on us mercy from Your presence and dispose of our affairs for us in the right way. (18:10)

19. Our Lord! Grant that our spouses and our offspring be a comfort to our eyes, and give us the grace to lead those who are conscious of You. (25:74)

20. Our Lord! You embrace all things within Your Grace and Knowledge, forgive those who repent and follow Your path, and ward off from them the punishment of Hell. (40:7)

21. Our Lord! Make them enter the Garden of Eden which You have promised to them, and to the righteous from among their fathers, their wives and their offspring, for verily You are alone the Almighty and the truly Wise. (40:8)

22. Our Lord! Relieve us of the torment, for we do really believe. (44:12)

23. Our Lord! Forgive us our sins as well as those of our brethren who proceeded us in faith and let not our hearts entertain any unworthy thoughts or feelings against [any of] those who have believed. Our Lord! You are indeed full of kindness and Most Merciful (59:10)

24. Our Lord! In You we have placed our trust, and to You do we turn in repentance, for unto You is the end of all journeys. (60:4)

25. Our Lord! Perfect our light for us and forgive us our sins, for verily You have power over all things. (66:8)